The Farm

There are probably some people that would break the theme "The Farm" into a week each of cows, pigs, and ducks.  There are probably enough books featuring each animal to do so.  Instead, we lump them all together and have one SUPER AWESOME week of stories. 

Punk Farm by Jarret J. Krosoczka. Farm animals by day, punk band by night. Will they get caught by the farmer?  It's near impossible to read this book.  Luckily, there's a great online resource for the book where they have the song! (Well, songs - there's also Punk Farm Goes on Tour, which is pretty cool too)

Baby Danced the Polka by Karen Beaumont. Maybe not the first book you'd think of when it comes to farm, but it's great! It's lift the flap, and it rhymes, so I have kids try to guess the word (which is an animal) at the end of the verse.  I always establish that they understand rhyming words first, of course.  There are always at least one or two kids who get it and get the ball rolling, even if the rest take a little longer to catch up.

The Cow Buzzed by Andrea Zimmerman. I haven't used this book in awhile, just because it can be a bit lengthy. It's about a bee who brings a cold with him to a farm.  When animals catch the cold, they also catch the sounds of the animal before them.  I like to do it at the beginning of the school year to emphasize to kids the need to cover their mouths when they cough and sneeze.

Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin. The animals find and old typewriter in the barn, and decide to start making the demands. The farmer refuses the demands, and the cows go on strike.  Eventually the chickens join in and the duck is the neutral party. The kids love saying "Click, clack, moooo", but it can be really hard to break their cycle once they get going.

Pigs to the Rescue by John Himmelman. This series of books is so cute.  In case you're not familiar, there's also one for chickens and another for cows. I like the pig one though, because in contrast to the other two, the pigs are total screw-ups.  The path to hell is paved with good intentions, and while these pigs have the best of intentions to help out, they ruin everything.  I get the kids to help me out with the book by yelling out "Pigs to the rescue!"

Other great books include:

Duck on a Bike by David Shannon.

The Day Jimmy's Boa Ate the Wash by Trinka Hakes Noble.

The Cow Loves Cookies by Karma Wilson

Hogwash by Karma Wilson.

There are also a TON of songs and fingerplays you can do for this theme, such as Old MacDonald, Down on Grandpa's Farm, and 6 Little Ducks. Not to mention nursery rhymes like Hey Diddle Diddle, Baa Baa Black Sheep, Hickety Pickety, Mary Had a Little Lamb, etc.